Knicks vs. Nets preseason: What to watch for

The Knicks’ young players still have a lot to prove

The New York Knicks kicked off the preseason with a road win against the Washington Wizards this past Monday night.

Now the Knicks will travel across the East River to Brooklyn on Wednesday night to face the Nets in their second preseason game of the fall.

Heading into New York’s second exhibition game, there are some things that I’ll be watching for. Here they are:

Allonzo Trier

Trier looked very good against the Wizards while giving their defenders problems with his ball handling skills. He managed to scored 13 points while hitting 42 percent of his shots.

If Trier can continue to make plays, he will almost be a lock to make the Knicks’ regular season roster. He’s an exciting player that can help a young team that doesn’t expect to go very far this season.

Kevin Knox

Knox looked good in his debut as he notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. If he can continue his strong play, he’ll likely be one of head coach David Fizdale’s starters heading into the regular season.

With Kristaps Porzingis still rehabbing, the Knicks need Knox to stand out and compete for Rookie of the Year. It will help make a sour season much sweeter.

Point guard battle

Trey Burke got the start against the Wizards at point guard. I expect that Fizdale will change up the starting line-up and will have either Emmanuel Mudiay or Frank Ntilikina start against the Nets.

None of the Knicks’ three point guards really stood out on Monday, but if I have to pick one that played the best it would be Burke.

Mitchell Robinson

Robinson is a raw talent, but he played pretty well against the Wizards. The best part of the game was when he got under the skin of Washington forward Markieff Morris, which got him tossed from the game after he continued talking trash at Robinson.

Robinson scored six points on three of four shooting. What was really a great sign was that he grabbed seven rebounds.

Let’s see how Robinson looks against the Nets. Will he play the same, worse, or get better?

Mario Hezonja

Hezonja struggled against the Wizards as he turned the ball over five times. He made it clear that he’s mad at himself for how he played.

“Everything is on me,” Hezonja said, via the NY Post. “I need to make a clearer path to see where my teammates are. Everything else was good. My shot was falling. I was aggressive without the ball and with it in my hands. This turnovers, that’s really pissing me off. I sit down with the coach and go through it. It’s really bothering me.”

It was one bad game, I’m sure he’ll bounce back. The hard thing is that he’s with new team and new system. It will take time for things to gel.

Damyean Dotson

Dotson was a huge part of the Knicks beating the Wizards after he got a ton of minutes down the stretch as he scored 14 points on 44.4 percent shooting. He also had four rebounds and two assists.